>Two elderly gentlemen (not beekeepers themselves), now long gone, spoke to
>me of the 'black Italians' 

Now, that is bit of a sketchy source, two old men not beekeepers! Reminds me
of a story told me by an old man, also not a beekeeper. He said he figured
out bees could fly 50 miles an hour. He had ridden in a truck which had bee
hives on back and when he looked out, he saw bees flying around the hives.
Therefore, he said, they were keeping up with the truck by flying at 50 mph.
I didn't bother to point out that the bees he saw were probably coming out
of the hives ...

>Is it possible that:
>a) the temper arose from cross mating between imported Italians (Am
>Ligustica) and the native English bee (Am mellifera)?


This is what Brother Adam describes

>b) in those days imported Italians were black in they came from a higher
>altitude as Peter suggests, where a black body subjected to solar radiation
>would enjoy a longer working day than a paler bee?

I never suggested any such thing. In fact, I pointed out that jet black bees
are just as prevalent in the tropics and that color in bees is not related
climate, solar radiation, and so forth. The native bee of Morocco and
Algeria is black. Being black doesn't seem to be a drawback for them. 

Just how would being black extend the work day anyway? Bees won't even go
out until it is already warm enough, and they have to come back when it's
dark even if it's 95 degrees F. Northern bees apparently do have longer hair
and larger bodies, -- to better survive the cold of winter, no doubt. 


pb

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